Designer interview

Other videos in this series

How did you begin your relationship with the directors?

How did you begin your relationship with directors Gregory Doran and Sean Holmes?

Designer Stephen Brimson-Lewis worked on both Gregory Doran's Antony and Cleopatra and Sean Holmes' Julius Caesar for the RSC simultaneously. In this video interview, he talks about working on both productions.

Interview by Suzanne Worthington, RSC Digital Media

Did you research Caesar and Antony together or separately?

Did you research Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra together or separately?

How did you research for Antony inform your designs for Caesar?

How did your research for Antony and Cleopatra inform your designs for Julius Caesar?

What practical factors informed your designs?

You are redesigning these shows for Michigan and London. How does this inform your designs?

Did you have an image which crystallised the plays for you?

Did you have an image which crystallised the plays for you?

How do you generate ideas? What process do you go through?

How do you generate ideas? What process do you go through?

How long does it take you to design a play?

How long does it take you to design a play? Which aspects took the longest?

How did you work with the lighting designers?

How did you work with the lighting designers?

Who did you collaborate with?

You worked with Kandis Cook who designed the costumes. Who else did you collaborate with?

What input from a director is useful? And what's not useful?

What input from a director is useful? And what's not useful?

How do you present designs to the director and company?

In what format do you create your designs? How do you present them to the director and company?

Did you consider modernising the settings?

Sometimes the setting of Shakespeare's plays is modernised. Did you consider this for Julius Caesar or Antony and Cleopatra?

Naturalism or abstraction - how do you decide?

How do you decide where to place a production on a scale from naturalism to abstraction?

How did you feel about tackling these plays?

Have you designed these plays before? How did you feel about tackling them?

What was most difficult about working these plays?

What was the most difficult thing about working on Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra simultaneously?